20160517 IS DESIRE THE CAUSE OF ALL MISERY?
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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James 4:1-10 ©
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Where do these wars
and battles between yourselves first start? Isn’t it precisely in the desires
fighting inside your own selves? You want something and you haven’t got it; so
you are prepared to kill. You have an ambition that you cannot satisfy; so you
fight to get your way by force. Why you don’t have what you want is because you
don’t pray for it; when you do pray and don’t get it, it is because you have
not prayed properly, you have prayed for something to indulge your own desires.
You are
as unfaithful as adulterous wives; don’t you realise that making the world your
friend is making God your enemy? Anyone who chooses the world for his friend
turns himself into God’s enemy. Surely you don’t think scripture is wrong when
it says: the spirit which he sent to live in us wants us for himself alone? But
he has been even more generous to us, as scripture says: God opposes the proud
but he gives generously to the humble. Give in to God, then; resist the devil,
and he will run away from you. The nearer you go to God, the nearer he will
come to you. Clean your hands, you sinners, and clear your minds, you waverers.
Look at your wretched condition, and weep for it in misery; be miserable
instead of laughing, gloomy instead of happy. Humble yourselves before the Lord
and he will lift you up.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 54:7-11,23
©
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Entrust your cares
to the Lord and he will support you.
O that I had wings
like a dove
to fly
away and be at rest.
So I would escape far
away
and take
refuge in the desert.
Entrust your cares
to the Lord and he will support you.
I would hasten to
find a shelter
from the
raging wind,
from the destructive
storm, O Lord,
and from
their plotting tongues.
Entrust your cares
to the Lord and he will support you.
For I can see nothing
but violence
and
strife in the city.
Night and day they
patrol
high on
the city walls.
Entrust your cares
to the Lord and he will support you.
Entrust your cares to
the Lord
and he
will support you.
He will never allow
the just
man to stumble.
Entrust your cares
to the Lord and he will support you.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Jn14:23
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Alleluia, alleluia!
If anyone loves me he
will keep my word,
and my Father will
love him,
and we shall come to
him.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Ga6:14
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The only thing I can
boast about is the cross of our Lord,
through whom the
world is crucified to me, and I to the world.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 9:30-37 ©
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After leaving the
mountain Jesus and his disciples made their way through Galilee; and he did not
want anyone to know, because he was instructing his disciples; he was telling
them, ‘The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men; they will put him
to death; and three days after he has been put to death he will rise again.’
But they did not understand what he said and were afraid to ask him.
They came
to Capernaum, and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you
arguing about on the road?’ They said nothing because they had been arguing
which of them was the greatest. So he sat down, called the Twelve to him and
said, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and
servant of all.’ He then took a little child, set him in front of them, put his
arms round him, and said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes one of these little
children in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not me
but the one who sent me.’
IS
DESIRE THE CAUSE OF ALL MISERY?
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ JM 4:1-10; PS 54:7-11, 23; MK
9:30-37 ]
Many great philosophers
have diagnosed that desire is the cause of misery of man and the lack of inner
peace. As St
James remarked, “Where do these wars and battles between yourselves first
start? Isn’t it precisely in the desires fighting inside your own
selves? You want something and you haven’t got it; so you are prepared to
kill. You have an ambition that you cannot satisfy; so you fight to get
your way by force.” Desire leads to ambition. We have all kinds of
desire, whether it is material things, money, pleasure, sex, glory and
power. When we do not get them, then the storm inside us begins to
rage. Desire often leads to cheating, envy, hatred, unhealthy competition
and violence.
Even Buddha came to
conclude that desire is the cause of all suffering in life. Through meditation, which brings
about enlightenment and self-discipline, he has helped millions to overcome
suffering by realizing that this world is transient and passing and hence we
should not hanker over such things in life or cling to them. They do not
last and cannot give us real happiness. The moment your desire is
satisfied, we crave for something else. Hence the way to cessation of
suffering is through meditation, which brings a person to enlightenment of the
passing things of this world and self-discipline of the mind and the body.
But is desire really the
cause of all suffering? The truth is that desire is part of our DNA. We are
created with this desire in us. Biologically, we cannot live with this
primal energy or drive in us. The human person has been created to seek
for food to survive and the desire to reproduce itself. All the seven
capital sins of pride, envy, anger, sloth, lust, greed and gluttony are
connected with the desires of the human person. So we cannot truly
say that all desires are bad even if most desires cause suffering. As
Christians, we need to distinguish those desires that cause negative suffering
and those that bring about positive suffering. Only evil desires bring
about destruction, causing bitterness, pain and anger. Good desires, even
when it involves suffering, bring joy and happiness, like a pregnant woman in
labour.
Hence, it is important
to determine our desires in life. When we seek to make the world our friends, then St James
warns us, “Anyone who chooses the world for his friend turns himself into God’s
enemy.” It must be clarified that St James is not condemning creation. Rather,
in speaking of the world, he is referring to what is worldly, namely, the
sinful pleasures, selfish desires and this obsession with the things of this
world. Creation is beautiful but we are called to be the master of
creation, not its slaves. The moment we seek to possess them, we become
slaves of creation. Creation must be used in such a way for the good of
ourselves and humanity.
St James describes what
Christians believe is the enlightened way of living. He wrote, “Surely you don’t think
scripture is wrong when it says: the spirit which he sent to live in us wants
us for himself alone? But he had been even more generous to us, as scripture
says: God opposes the proud but he gives generously to the humble. Give
in to God, then; resist the devil, and he will run away from you.” In
other words, only God can fulfill us. God wants us for Him alone,
totally, not for Himself but for us. In God, who is eternal and perfect,
we find our fulfillment and all our desires. The world is transient and
passing. It cannot quench our thirst and yearnings in life but only
brings suffering.
So for those who desire
much in life, St James confronts us to look into ourselves. He said, “Look at your wretched
condition, and weep for it in misery; be miserable instead of laughing, gloomy
instead of happy.” Are we really happy even if we have all that we
desire? How long does our happiness last? Can we ever truly fulfill
our desires? Can we ever have enough? Can anyone or anything
satisfy our desires in life? Not even our spouse or our loved
ones! When we are insecure and we want to cling to the things of
this world, we will always be insecure and anxious. And if we cannot
satisfy our desires, then we will suffer even more. This can lead to
anger, jealousy and even cheating and killing. Worse still when we desire
evil and harmful things! We end up hurting others and destroying
ourselves. Hence, whether we have or we have not, our desires and
suffering do not end!
So instead of desiring
things that are transient, even if they are not immoral, St James urges us to
seek God first.
“The nearer to God, the nearer he will come to you. Clean your hands, you
sinners, and clear your minds, you waverers. Humble yourselves before the
Lord and he will lift you up.” Isn’t this is what Jesus is also saying,
“Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these other things will be given to
you.” (Mt 6:33)
Besides, God, what can
fulfill us is when we give ourselves in service to our fellowmen
unconditionally and without self-interests. This is what Jesus told the disciples when their
desire for power, glory, possessions turned to selfish ambition. Jesus
knew what was in the mind of his disciples and so He asked them, “What were you
arguing about on the road?’ They said nothing because they had been
arguing which of them was the greatest.” They too were ambitious and they
were following Jesus for the wrong reasons. They hoped that Jesus could
fulfill their desires for power, wealth and prestige.
Hence Jesus, like a true
master, “sat down” to teach them. This is quite significant because in describing the action
of Jesus, the evangelist is saying that it was a solemn teaching, just like
when the Pope or the Bishop sits on his “cathedra” to teach. Jesus in
no uncertain terms taught them that the only ambition we can have is the
ambition to love and serve humbly. Other than the ambition to love
and serve, all other ambitions will not make us truly happy. They might
afford us money, power and prestige, but they do not take away our fear,
anxiety and most of all, they cannot fill the vacuum in our heart, which is
love, joy and meaning. Only in service to others, especially those who are
deprived, can we experience the joy that the pleasures of this world cannot
give. This is the joy that Jesus spoke about when He said, “These things
I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be
full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved
you.” (Jn 15:11f)
How, then, can we be
sure that we are serving humbly and without selfish interests? In the
gospel, Jesus illustrates this humble and selfless service by taking “a little
child, set him in
front of them, put his arms round him, and said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes
one of these little children in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes
me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’” A child had no significance
during the time of Jesus. A child cannot do anything for us or give us
anything. They are helpless and they have no possessions to
give. To give to a child means that we give freely and without
expectations of reward, such as power, glory and wealth.
Quite often, we come
across people in public service as well as those serving in Church ministries
who do so with hidden agendas. They want position and they want recognition. Others
serve hoping to find opportunities to expand their business, or contacts that
they can leverage for their various interests. They may do so consciously
or unconsciously.
In truth, we all know
that such desires and selfish ambitions are wrong. That was why the disciples kept
quiet in front of our Lord, because they felt ashamed. If only we open
our hearts to the Lord, as St James asks of us, we will know our true
motives. We must purify our desires so that we can find true peace and
happiness. A person who truly serves God for His sake and his countrymen
and community for love of them, will always find peace and joy in his heart
because he is not seeking for anything. He is not looking for success or
an ambition to fulfill. When he is rejected, he can readily let go, like
what Jesus told the apostles, “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your
words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.” (Mt 10:14)
However, if we are ready
to purify our desires and to serve the Lord and His people, not for ourselves
but for others; and knowing that these people cannot repay us, we will be
filled with great joy, because
we will never be disappointed since we have nothing to gain except pure
love. Jesus reminds us that “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not
invite your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or rich neighbors, lest
they also invite you in return, and you be repaid. But when you give
a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be
blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection
of the just.” (Lk 14:12-14)
Yet the truth is that by
loving in this way, the poor, like the child, can give us something that money
cannot buy. When
you see the joy and happiness in their faces, the love that they have for you,
their deep genuine appreciation for your concern and care, you are filled with
the joy and love of God. This kind of reward, the world cannot
give. Only God and selfless service can receive this godly joy and peace.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
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